I attended an open house and took a tour of the 911 center earlier this month. Eleni Garrett, dispatcher No. 17, explained how the job works and that some of the calls are extremely difficult. They have to be OK, too, with usually not finding out how a call ended.
She offered a good tip, too, when traveling: Always know where you are, including the last exit you passed or any significant markers or buildings in the area.
York County 911 recently received a call from a guy who struck a deer with his vehicle on Route 30, and he didn't think it was safe to drive his car. The dispatcher asked the driver where he was on Route 30. The caller didn't know. The dispatcher asked what was the last exit number he passed. He didn't know.
He wasn't paying attention.
And Route 30 is a long stretch of road.
So the driver had to walk half a mile to the closest exit to let the dispatcher know his location.
"I can't send police to the middle of nowhere," Garrett said.
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